Changes are afoot for the CONCACAF Champions League starting with the 2012-13 edition of the tournament, and they’re the sort that could have a profound effect not only on fixture congestion, but on the future of the burgeoning rivalry between MLS and Mexican Primera División sides.

Starting this summer, the two-leg preliminary round – in which 16 teams would face off in a home-and-home series – has been eliminated. Instead, all 24 teams in the event will be drawn straight into the group stage. Each of the eight groups will have three teams, and MLS and Mexican sides can’t be drawn into the same group.